24 Hours in Portland with Kinfolk Magazine

This week’s 24 Hours in Portland, OR comes to us from the edit team at Kinfolk, Gail O’Hara and Georgia Frances King. These ladies have compiled their typical day of cruising, working and living in Portland and share a some extra favorites from the team. Thank you for sharing this great itinerary, Gail and Georgia! —Stephanie

Portland, Oregon, is both everything you want it to be and everything the stereotypes would have you believe: eco-friendly, green, lush, full-of-flannel and stuffed with small businesses including food carts, internationally acclaimed baristas, craft-making geniuses and more. We’re spoiled silly when it comes to food: It seems like a new restaurant opens every 18 minutes, so we spend a lot of our day eating. It’s our job, right? We’re equally lucky that this foodie mecca is surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountains, valleys, waterfalls and active volcanoes that the Pacific Northwest has to offer. This means when we don’t have a mouthful of something bacon-flavored, you’ll often find us pulling on some hiking boots and getting lost in the wilderness (you should definitely drive up to the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, pictured, when you’re in town). Here’s a guide to a regular day in the life of a Kinfolk staffer.

8am: The front door to the Kinfolk office swings open. For those who arrive in need of a coffee (approximately 90 percent of the staff), a strawberry balsamic cream cheese buckle or lavender blueberry muffin, Bushel & Peck (http://www.bushelandpeckbakeshop.com) is just around the corner to fulfill all those requirements. We’re rather fond of their cinnamon snickerdoodles and savory biscuits with assorted homemade jams, and it’s a gentle place to read the morning headlines or have a quick meeting.

photos by Laura Dart

9am: The team meets every weekday to set some goals for the day and discuss whatever we got up to last night, whether it was sipping craft brews while playing cards at one of Portland’s dozens of breweries, catching an outdoor film on the riverfront or attending an opening at our favorite local gallery, Nationale. Every Monday someone will wander in with armfuls of lilies or forget-me-nots from the Portland Flower Market to decorate our office for that week.

10am: The team splits into its multifarious sections to run errands and attend photo shoots. Some people may be taking a quick scenic drive north through the valley toward Sauvie Island to pick up fresh fruit or a pile of pumpkins for a still-life, straight off a farmer’s tractor, whereas other staffers might use the lightrail (“the Max”) to attend a casting or do some location scouting. Oh, and at some point in this hour, it normally rains.

11am: Back at our desks, someone volunteers to make a pot of French press coffee or, if our office coffee snob is around, use the Chemex. We’re regularly sent bags of coffee beans from around the world by different roasters and readers, and we take delight in grinding them before dousing them in boiling water. Most of the team members are mighty-fine bakers, and more often or not there will be a pile of cookies or a freshly iced Bundt cake to nibble on.

Noon: More meetings, more emails, more coffee and a mosey through the depths of the internet to pick up on global food trends. We try to do all of our food-related research in the hour before lunch so that the office doesn’t become overwhelmed with the sound of tummy rumbles.

1pm: Most days, when we’re not bringing leftovers from home or partaking in an office lunch, there are a few local establishments where we regularly take our grumbling stomachs. These include…

+ Cedo’s, one of the best Middle Eastern cafés in town. We’d like to consider ourselves hummus enthusiasts, and theirs is not to be messed with. If we’re in the mood for some particularly swish falafel wraps with roasted eggplant and radicchio, someone may do a run to the Wolf & Bear’s on Mississippi, which is only a few blocks away.

+ Tasty N Sons, a Portland institution. On a Saturday morning the line can creep 50 yards up the block (often blocking the entryway to Yoga Shala, our local stretchy studio), but during the week you can be in and out for lunch in an hour. Their cornmeal and jalapeño butter skirt steak skillet is worth the momentary artery clog. If you’re a charcuterie-lover, then make sure to pop by Chop Butchery in the same building for a stick of sopressa.

+ For sandwiches, you have the holy trifecta of Bunk Bar, Kenny & Zuke’s and Brass Tacks to choose from, all within a half mile of the office. The three are known for their liberal displays of carbs, cheese and more carbs, and are not for the lighthearted (or the gluten-averse).

2pm: More meetings. More photo shoots. More pitches. More phone calls. More baked goods. We…need…more….coffee.

3pm: Time for another round of caffeine. Scrounge around in our typically overflowing office fridge for a bucket of Stumptown cold brew. Drink it standing up while hunched over a fresh pile of copy proofs, espresso in one hand, red pen in the other. Try not to spill its amber juices on the pristine matte paper.

4pm: A sugar-addled staff member might dash out to Sweedeedee for a slice of pie before they close for the day. At almost any Kinfolk dinner or gathering in town you are likely to see a Salted Honey Pie from this place.

5pm: Happy hours abound all over Portland at all times of day—not only for drinks, but also for food. If you haven’t already noticed, we like to eat, so this is the chance for us to both unwind with a tipple and sample some snacks from our local drinking holes. Two office favorites are both within walking distance: the herb-infused gins, whiskeys and tequilas at Beech Street Parlor (try the rosemary gin) do the trick, as do the vegan food options at Liberty Glass (go there on a Monday and you’ll catch their infamous blacklight bingo).

6pm: Although our office is located in Portland’s NE quadrant, many of us live in SE. This is the point in the day where most of the office treks back down south to drop off their bag before heading out for the night’s shenanigans. Oddly, not a single one of us lives west of the Willamette River, but for the sake of equality, here are a list of stores to hit up if you want to wander home with a duffle full of local goodies: Tanner Goods and Danner (not to be confused) for leatherwear and Frances May for shoes or minimal, impeccably designed threads.

7pm: When the stores close and you’re still in the west, head to Clyde Common for popcorn and cocktails, Blue Star for donuts (take it from us—don’t wait in line for the novelty at Voodoo as your guidebook says: Go for the blueberry bourbon at Blue Star just around the corner), Yo Vintage and Eden for secondhand threads, every second block for used records, Lardo for pork, Boxer for ramen and Sizzle Pie for pizza…

8pm: Although you could spend a whole day at Powell’s—the largest independent bookstore in the world—an hour will do. It’s our town square.

9pm: Head back over to the SE for a late dinner once the waiting lines have subsided: Try Broder for Scandinavian fare, Por Que No for Mexican, Paa Dee or PokPok for Thai, Le Pigeon for meat or Screen Door for anything deep-fried.

Afterward: One thing we adore about Portland is its ridiculously large number of old movie theaters (and the gorgeous neon signage that adorns their skeletons). We can often be seen lining up for $4 movies at the Laurelhurst, where they show old classics and recent releases along with very good pizza and craft beer.

10pm: Although we work a lot, Portland is full of enough coffee addicts that most of us are still wide awake at this time. And while during the winter some of us are likely to be curled up with a blanket watching Seinfeld reruns on the sofa, a few of us might be spotted around town watching bands at places like Doug Fir, Mississippi Studios and Holocene.

It’s my husband’s childhood dream to visit Portland…I hope to surprise him one day with a get-a-way there–thanks for the exciting and adventurous tips! This sounds like my dream job except the time that I wouldn’t be able to tuck in the munchkins at night. Have you ever been sent alkaline coffee. I am currently doing a Clean cleanse and COFFEE is a no no for 21 days and it keeps popping up in my life. I just discovered that a non-acid coffee exist and am curious about its taste. Happy Nesting!

Oh man this list is making me hungry (DOVE VIVI! YUM! – get the chef’s special, each slice is different and delectable).
Wanted to add – as a Portlander and ice cream connoisseur, “Lovely’s 50/50” on Mississippi Avenue has completely spoiled me from eating ANY other ice cream. Their pizza is absolutely delicious as well.

Awesome list!! Wolf & Bear’s is the best!!! But I must point out for visitors…every NW spot listed is technically in SW Portland…specifically the West End (Burnside is the divider, and these spots ate all South of Burnside) But, all is forgiven, you say yourself not a single staffer lives on the West side :)

Hey, you’re giving away all my secrets! Seriously, you couldn’t go wrong with any of the recommendations in this article. although I’d have to vote for Hot Lips over Pizzicato for fast-food pizza. And, another great place to satisfy a sweet tooth is the Sugar Cube on NE Alberta.

Hi Kinfolk folks. My husband Kol and I are the owners of Caravan~ The Tiny House Hotel. Thanks for linking to us! We’d love to invite you to come by for a tour of the tiny houses so that you can let people know about our unique and very Portland hotel:) Er’re having a Tiny Open House(s) this Sunday, January 26th, from 2~5pm with tours and all you can eat S’mores. If that doesn’t work for you, let’s make a time when we can show you the first tiny house hotel in the country, right on Alberta St….

I have visited Portland several times. It wouldn’t be a complete visit without at least one Stumptown coffee, and a few hours at Powell’s bookstore. – I hadn’t discovered the Bushel & Peck Bake shop, but it is definitely on the list for next time! Thanks for the great tips!

Oh How I wish I would have seen your guide before I visited The Pacific Northwest in June/July. Portland was our first stop, while we enjoyed our time there, It would have been great to know about some of these special places.
We didn’t go to Voodoo donuts because frankly we didn’t want to spend an hour in line, so having known about those Blueberry Bourbon donuts at Blue Star we would have definitely tried them.They sound delicious.

It is always best when visiting new places if you have the insight from locals. I agree about the flowers, throughout the PNW as we traveled through Oregon, Washington and Canada we saw the most gorgeous flowers at the markets and they were priced so much lower than back home. Thanks for sharing your beautiful city with us.

I just have to put in a plug for Traveler’s House hostel. I stayed there one night and it was so lovely and affordable. If you can handle communal space and dorm-style sleeping (no group showers, though – don’t worry!), then you must come visit this lovely home near super cool Mississippi Ave!

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